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“This is why you’re here.” Mother gripped my wrist tighter. Domineering over me like this, she looked positively feral. Demanding. Unforgiving. Fae.
“Ouch,” I mumbled.
“You need light magic to replace it. That’s what Fae house will give you.”
Mother didn’t even show her own dark magic anymore. Not when she went ‘Full Seelie.’ The Fae saw magic as Seelie and Unseelie. Light and Dark. Life and Death. Of course, other Houses had different names, but the concept was the same.
Light magic was beautiful, wonderful, and filled with creation. Dark magic was tumultuous, predatory, and prone to destruction. While light magic made flowers bloom, dark magic stole their life away.
“Do not let anyone know what you really are,” she said. “This is the only way you can start over.”
“Not my fault I was born,” I reminded her. “You chose to bring me into this world.”
“I was hoping you’d be more like your father.”
I flinched. There had always been a nagging suspicion in my heart that if I was innocent and shadowless like Dad, she would love me more, but she’d never actually said it. Until now.
“Powerless.” Her grip loosened. My hand fell, limp, onto my lap. “No magic at all. Completely and utterly normal.”
“Early bid day present?” Dad reappeared, eyes wide. I raised mine in return.
“I checked with your mom to make sure it fits.” He held up a gauzy, lacy white dress.
An initiation dress. The same one you wore on the day you officially became Housed. White for rebirth. For a new life. Not for marriage, as much as the similarities existed.
“Thanks, Dad,” I said, hugging him.
“Keep that as motivation,” Mother said, pulling a duster out of her purse to attack my drawers. As if she didn’t just insult me and tell me how much she hated who and what I was. “But may I remind you, dear, that you need to put in the work from now on.”
“Do you have any plans now that curfew is lifted?” Dad asked hopefully, ending Mom’s lecture. “Have you made any friends?”
“I might go to the candlelight vigil later today.” The wolves sent out the notification that they were hosting one for their fallen comrade. Usually, the first week of college was filled with parties, but in light of recent news, the campus had been lifelessly silent.
“Meet me in the car, Eugene.” Mother turned to him. “I’ll just shoo away thisbirdand meet you there.”
Dad left. Mom grabbed the pigeon by its neck. “Stay away from my daughter,” she growled.
“Love you too, Jae,” Gaksi cooed. “But you know as well as I do that I won’t leave this world until my bloodline does.”
“Keep your secrets secret,” Mother said to me. Annoyed, I let my shadows run out, slamming the door after her.
As much as I hated it, she was right. My family history needed to stay undercover.
Because dark magic was forbidden at Aether University, and it was all I was.
ChapterSix
THE ORACLE MUSINGS
Is it too soon to swoon? Below, from the camera footage of a firsthand witness: the prime suspect for the wolf murder! Isn’t he dreamy? I do love a good mystery.
Speaking of swoon-worthy: if it weren’t for Lukas’ mediocre pickup lines, he might actually secure himself a girlfriend, as Siren House desperately needs a strong female leader.
In other news: who will be the star pledges of the upcoming recruitment season? The candidates every House fights over? My money’s on the fearless one who played hooky to chase a demon: if that’s not someone worthy, I don’t know who is.
I fidgeted nervouslyin my frigid chair, watching air puff out in front of me. It was uncomfortable, much like myself, in a frosty room made from bricks of ice.
The door was a frost-coated blue. The walls were semi-translucent, filled with perfectly preserved flowers amid the ice. White mist swirled around the floor. Cold, desolate, and snowy, it resembled a wintry prison.
